Tag: Anthony Smith

Michael Bisping, Anthony Smith suggest Sean Strickland as Chris Weidman’s next opponent

Michael Bisping and Anthony Smith want to see Chris Weidman face a marquee name next.

[autotag]Michael Bisping[/autotag] and [autotag]Anthony Smith[/autotag] want to see [autotag]Chris Weidman[/autotag] face a marquee name next.

Weidman (16-7 MMA, 12-7 UFC) picked up his first win since August 2020 when he defeated Bruno Silva at UFC on ESPN 54 – a TKO finish which was later ruled a unanimous decision after instant replay showed Weidman poking Silva in the eyes twice before dropping him.

Although there was controversy surrounding the finish, Smith thinks former champion Weidman still has the ability to face elite-level competition at middleweight.

“Skill for skill, I think he can compete with everybody in that division up to the very top,” Smith said on a recent episode of the “Believe You Me” podcast. “But it’s just, can he stay healthy enough to put a run together? … If you can get him a big name, halfway up, maybe fast-track him.”

Looking through the rankings, Bisping threw out the name [autotag]Sean Strickland[/autotag] (28-6 MMA, 15-6 UFC), who recently lost his middleweight title in a competitive battle against Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 297.

“Give him Sean Strickland,” Bisping said. “Sean Strickland-Chris Weidman: ‘The All-American’ against ‘Here’s the thing guys’ American. Do it. I think that’s a good matchup.”

Smith was on board with the idea right away.

“That’s a really good fight,” Smith said. “I didn’t even think about that. I’m going to text him that right now.”

Strickland would be considered a big step up in competition after Weidman rebounded with a win over unranked Silva. Prior to that, the 39-year-old dropped a decision to Brad Tavares at UFC 292 – his first fight back after suffering a gruesome leg break in April 2021.

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UFC 301’s Anthony Smith ‘offended’ Vitor Petrino called him out: ‘I refuse to be the new Neil Magny’

Anthony Smith is tired of rising contenders trying to use him as a stepping stone.

[autotag]Anthony Smith[/autotag] is tired of rising contenders trying to use him as a stepping stone.

[autotag]Vitor Petrino[/autotag] (11-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) called out Smith (37-19 MMA, 12-9 UFC) after beating Tyson Pedro less than two weeks ago at UFC Fight Night 238. He got his wish, and will face the former title challenger at UFC 301 on May 4 in Rio.

Smith is bothered by undefeated Petrino’s callout. After spending years facing former champions and the division’s upper echelon, “Lionheart” has recently been fighting down the rankings. He vows to make fighters think twice before calling him out.

“I’m offended,” Smith said on MMA on SiriusXM’s MMA Today. “Why didn’t he call out someone higher ranked? Why didn’t he call out (Aleksandar) Rakic? As far as timelines go, Rakic is going to be fighting soon. That would be a little closer to your timeline, in terms of two guys that are fighting around the same time. Why didn’t you call out Rakic or Volkan Oezdemir? Why didn’t you call out any of those guys? Because you think you can beat me. You’re not sure about the other ones and that pisses me off.

“I’m not done. I’m not the old wounded lion that’s just pacing around waiting to be killed by the younger ones. That’s not me. I refuse to be the new Neil Magny. That’s three guys in a month and a half that have fought, won, and called me out. All unranked, all young guys. We’re going to dead this right in its tracks. Call me a gatekeeper. Call me whatever the hell you want to call me, but here’s the fact: I’ve been fighting inside the top 10 for a very long time and have been fighting in the rankings in two different weight classes for a very long time.”

Smith is no stranger to shutting down rising contenders. He spoiled Devin Clark’s first main event by submitting him, finished Jimmy Crute, and defeated Ryan Spann twice – and he plans on continuing to stake his claim as a top light heavyweight.

“If your favorite fighter isn’t already in the top 10, he won’t be until I’m gone,” Smith said. “F*cking like it or not, that’s just the life that we live in right now. I’ve got a career plan with where I’m headed and it starts with shutting these young guys up, and then we’ll go to the next one. …My plan, when this is all done, is to not have another young guy open his f*cking mouth with my name in it again.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 301.

Anthony Smith draws undefeated Vitor Petrino at UFC 301 in Rio

Anthony Smith will take on another rising UFC light heavyweight contender.

[autotag]Anthony Smith[/autotag] will take on another rising light heavyweight contender.

Smith meets [autotag]Vitor Petrino[/autotag] at UFC 301 on May 4 from Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro. A person with knowledge of the situation confirmed the booking to MMA Junkie following an initial report from Laerte Viana.

Smith (37-19 MMA, 12-9 UFC) will look to rebound from his stoppage loss to Khalil Rountree this past December at UFC Fight Night 233. Prior to that, the former title challenger defeated Ryan Spann for a second time at UFC Fight Night 225.

Brazil’s Petrino (11-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) is fresh off a unanimous decision win over Tyson Pedro earlier this month. The Dana White Contender Series alum will make a two-month turnaround after an active 2023.

With the addition, the UFC 301 fight card includes:

  • Caio Borralho vs. Paul Craig
  • Joanderson Brito vs. Jack Shore
  • Drakkar Klose vs. Joaquim Silva
  • Kevin Borjas vs. Alessandro Costa
  • Dione Barbosa vs. Ernesta Kareckaite
  • Elves Brener vs. Myktybek Orolbai
  • Vitor Petrino vs. Anthony Smith

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 301.

UFC 299 commentary team, broadcast plans set: Lead PPV team with Joe Rogan gets first call of 2024

The UFC’s lead commentary team of Jon Anik, Joe Rogan and Daniel Cormier will call its first card of 2024 at UFC 299 in Miami.

The third numbered UFC event of 2024 is rapidly approaching with UFC 299 on Saturday at Kaseya Center in Miami.

As always, some marquee on-air talent will be there to help guide viewers through the experience.

Details of who will be working as commentators and analysts for the show have been acquired by MMA Junkie through a person with knowledge of the plans – and you can see the scheduled broadcast team below.

UFC Fight Night 236 commentary team set: Trio with former champs makes 2024 debut

The commentary team of Brendan Fitzgerald, Dominick Cruz and Daniel Cormier will make its 2024 debut at UFC Fight Night 236 on Saturday.

The UFC continues its February schedule Saturday with UFC Fight Night 236, which goes down at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

As always, some marquee on-air talent will be there in “Sin City” to help guide viewers through the experience.

Details of who will work as commentators and analysts for each event have been acquired by MMA Junkie through a person with knowledge of the situation, and you can see the scheduled broadcast team below.

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Anthony Smith itching for next UFC booking, says ‘it has to be something that I deem as fun’

Anthony Smith is seeking an early summer UFC return and wants a fight that makes him go, “Oh, that would be fun.”

[autotag]Anthony Smith[/autotag] has some conditions around his next UFC matchup.

Smith (37-19 MMA, 12-9 UFC), a former light heavyweight title challenger, is coming off a third-round TKO loss to Khalil Rountree in a short-notice bout at UFC Fight Night 233 this past December. He’s 1-3 in his past four fights, and there’s a degree of importance around his next one.

He’s looking to get something on the books in the coming months but admits he’ll first need to drop some weight before jumping into a training camp.

“I’m ready to fight,” Smith said on his “Believe You Me” podcast with co-host Michael Bisping. “It kind of just hit me. Not fight, fight, but ready to start finding a fight. Pick up the workouts a little bit. I’m fat. I’ve got this belly hanging over the pants. I was 237 like a week ago. I’m heavy. When I’m off, I’m off. I’m all the way off.”

As Smith, 35, shifts his mental and physical state toward the direction of competition, he is moving away from his usual philosophy of taking anything UFC matchmakers throw his way.

Smith, No. 12 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie light heavyweight rankings, said he is keen to enter a situation that makes his pulse beat a little faster than normal. He doesn’t know who or what would generate that feeling, but he’s confident when it comes up, he’ll know it’s right.

“I’ve been trying to change my mindset a little bit, and there’s a couple things that matter,” Smith said. “The name doesn’t really matter – how I feel about it really matters. I want something that’s exciting. And maybe divisionally it doesn’t make sense, I don’t know. I don’t care if they’re ranked. I don’t care if they’re not ranked, ranked high. I don’t care who it is. It has to be something that I deem as fun. And I know that’s really stupid, but when I hear the name I want it to be exciting. I want it to be like, ‘Oh, that would be fun.’

“I need something that’s fun, and I want to look forward to it. The danger factor doesn’t really matter to me. I don’t care how hard the fight’s going to be. I want it to be someone that gets me excited, and I want it to be somewhere that gets me excited. The timing – I’m less concerned with the timing. May or June.”

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Anthony Smith not sold on Paulo Costa as a heavy hitter: ‘He hasn’t knocked out anybody in a while’

Anthony Smith believes UFC middleweight Paulo Costa is mislabeled as a knockout artist.

[autotag]Anthony Smith[/autotag] believes [autotag]Paulo Costa[/autotag] is mislabeled as a knockout artist.

Costa (14-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) takes on former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker (24-7 MMA, 15-5 UFC) in the UFC 298 co-main event Feb. 17 at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.

Eleven of Costa’s 14 professional wins have come by knockout, with his first four UFC wins by TKO. Smith pointed to Costa’s most recent decision win over Luke Rockhold at UFC 278, where he failed to put away the bloodied former middleweight champ. While Costa got off to a hot start in his UFC career, that hasn’t been the case lately.

“I know that everyone’s going to get mad at me when I say this, but Paulo’s always been regarded as this crazy heavy hitter knockout artist, but he hasn’t knocked out anybody in a while,” Smith said on the “Believe You Me” podcast.

“Is he explosive and aggressive? And he does land a lot of shots absolutely, but think of the last person he flatlined. I couldn’t even tell you off the top of my head. He was in there with Luke. He had Luke Rockhold hurt a couple of times and wasn’t able to put him out.”

Smith went on to clarify that while Costa does have power, he’s not shutting people’s lights off.

“Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying he doesn’t have power. I’m saying he’s not flatlining people where they’re nervous about it,” Smith said. “The Johny Hendricks (win) was like an overwhelming – it was a TKO, but he’s not scaring people off.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 298.

Michael Bisping brutally honest with Anthony Smith on facing Khalil Rountree on short notice: ‘You gained nothing’

Michael Bisping didn’t hold back when advising his good friend Anthony Smith on how to handle his career.

[autotag]Michael Bisping[/autotag] didn’t hold back when advising his good friend [autotag]Anthony Smith[/autotag] on how to handle his career.

Smith (37-19 MMA, 12-9 UFC) stepped in on two weeks’ notice to face Khalil Rountree (13-5 MMA, 9-5 UFC) in the UFC Fight Night 233 co-main event this past December. He was stopped by third-round TKO.

Bisping can’t understand why Smith opted to take the fight. He saw it as a high risk, low reward move.

“I’m happy to hear that you still want to fight, but if you want to fight, you’ve got to be a little more meticulous about it, if you don’t mind me saying,” Bisping said on his “Believe You Me” podcast. “I’ll be honest: I said it when we watched the fight on the live (broadcast), and I didn’t want to go into it because it’s like I was betraying you or whatever. I hated it. I was on a walk – I think it was Thanksgiving day when I got the message – and I found out you were fighting. I hated it.

“I f*cking hated it. I didn’t understand it. You’re a fighter, 100 percent, and you’ve got balls of steel. You’re like, ‘F*ck it, let’s go. I can do this.’ I think with the trend lately of people stepping up on short notice, Tom Aspinall going out there and doing it, and Volkanovski stepping up. All right, he lost. But it’s been kind of a thing, people stepping up on short notice. You only really do that when there’s something worth risking it for. I did it, but that was a title fight. I didn’t understand it because you gained nothing from that.”

Smith admitted that his ego got in the way, and his pride wasn’t going to let him turn down the opportunity. “Lionheart” was criticized in the past by Daniel Cormier for not taking the disqualification win in his title fight vs. Jon Jones when he was illegally kneed in the head.

Moving forward, Bisping urged Smith to be more mindful of his decisions.

“You’ve just got to be more professional with it, as you say, in between camps with your weight and stuff like that leading up to fights and just making the correct choices,” Bisping said. “I would love to see you fight on a full camp against Khalil – and we can’t take away from Khalil’s performance. He did tremendous. But the purpose of a fight camp is not only to get you in shape, it’s to get you mentally ready, as well.”

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Anthony Smith knew fighting Khalil Rountree on short notice was an ‘uphill battle’: ‘It was shocking how fast he is’

Anthony Smith was fully aware that facing Khalil Rountree on short notice wasn’t ideal.

[autotag]Anthony Smith[/autotag] was fully aware that facing [autotag]Khalil Rountree[/autotag] on short notice wasn’t ideal.

Smith (37-19 MMA, 12-9 UFC) replaced Azamat Murzakanov on two weeks’ notice against Rountree (13-5 MMA, 9-5 UFC) in the UFC Fight Night 233 co-main event. He was stopped by TKO less than a minute into Round 3.

“Lionheart” took a risk fighting a dangerous, lower-ranked opponent on short notice, but he knew that going in.

“I knew I was in an uphill battle,” Smith said on the “Believe You Me” podcast. “I knew the position I put myself in was not going to benefit me. I knew that I would kind of put myself behind the gun, and I was fine with that. I knew exactly what I was getting myself into, and I knew what I was up against. I had quite a bit of weight to cut. That was the bigger issue.”

Other than the weight cut, Smith explains that he had issues seeing the left hand in practice, which ended up being a problem for him in the fight.

“He was just way faster than I had anticipated,” Smith said. “I knew he was going to be fast. It was shocking how fast he is, how he goes from 0-100 so fast. I struggled with the speed in the fight, and I didn’t really have any other options.

“I wasn’t seeing the left hand. He was faster than I was, and he was faster than I prepared for. Some of that is I wasn’t in fight shape. I was seeing things, but my body just wasn’t reacting fast enough because I haven’t been in camp, and that’s no excuse. That’s my fault. I put myself in that position. I knew it was a possibility.”

Although Smith was on a two-fight winning streak prior to the loss, he admits self-doubt started creeping in after getting stopped by Rountree. However, the former title challenger has no intentions of walking away.

“I still want to fight,” Smith said. “I’m not going anywhere. It’s probably the worst loss I’ve ever taken. If I had more time, or I was in better shape, or I had a whole training camp, or a lot of things are different, I think the whole thing looks different. I don’t think I aged overnight. I think I put myself in a tough spot.”

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UFC Fight Night 233 post-event facts: Khalil Rountree inches closer to Chuck Liddell’s KO record

Check out all the facts from UFC Fight Night 233, which saw Khalil Rountree move closer to Chuck Liddell’s longstanding knockout record.

There’s just one event left on the UFC’s 2023 schedule after UFC Fight Night 233 came to a conclusion on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

An underwhelming lineup fell in the shadow of UFC 296 this weekend, and the main event wasn’t particularly memorable as [autotag]Song Yadong[/autotag] (21-7-1 MMA, 10-2-1 UFC) proved to be too much for [autotag]Chris Gutierrez[/autotag] (20-6-2 MMA, 8-3-1 UFC) in their bantamweight matchup en route to a unanimous decision win.

For more on the numbers to come out of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts about UFC Fight Night 233.

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